


FF#1: Into the Wild

by JadedQuill



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: F/M, Flash Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-29
Updated: 2014-05-29
Packaged: 2018-01-27 00:22:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 625
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1708064
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JadedQuill/pseuds/JadedQuill
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A romantic moment makes Felicity face the truth.</p>
<p>(Olicity Flash Fic Prompt #1)</p>
            </blockquote>





	FF#1: Into the Wild

Felicity Smoak was lost in a forest at night, and for the moment she didn’t care.

Less than two weeks since Oliver basically told her he loved her, and then immediately took it back. The trust, in hindsight, felt good; but getting up close and personal with a psychopath, not so much. They’d very carefully not said anything personal to each other for days, and Felicity had tried to focus on how proud she was of herself for not accidentally jamming the needle into herself.

Even in that moment of near pure terror, the cogs in her brain had kept whirring. Now they had ground to a complete halt.

Felicity had been up close and personal with Oliver before, but the ease with which Oliver had swept her off her feet and into his arms, the casual strength. It was intoxicating, in an oddly primal way.  She momentarily forgot that she had protested the move, that her ankle was fine. For a moment the rush of endorphins overpowered the pain and made her words true.

“I need to trip and fall more often. “

Her brain jolted back into gear as Oliver froze, arms tensing around her. Perplexingly, a chill ran up her spine just as her stomach dropped from mortification.

Being held in Oliver’s arms suddenly shifted from perfectly wonderful, to a situation she needed to escape. Even as she went from relaxed to tense, Oliver’s grip shifted so that somehow he was holding her and hugging her all at the same time.  It couldn’t be comfortable for him, but once again she felt her defenses lowering. She felt safe.

“Don’t. It’s dark, and the terrain is treacherous.”

Oliver relaxed his hold on her, and beneath the hood Felicity could see the pained expression she knew all too well these days. In the length and breadth of the following silence, the noise of the forest seemed immense. Birds sang, the leaves rustled in the trees, and the occasional bug buzzing by her head sounded like a buzz-saw. The throbbing pain in her ankle was growing, and she had a million things she wanted to say, but none of them seemed like a particularly good idea.

“I know I can count on you.  That means a lot to me.” Oliver spoke carefully, precisely. It was a lot like how he spoke about the island, when you wonder what part of the story he’s not telling you.

It was odd how the stretching of his silence, the unease, disregarding all else, could so rapidly clear her head and strengthen her resolve.

“You know how I feel. Despite that stupid root back there, I’m getting pretty damn good at taking care of myself- plus I’m going to be in danger anyways!” She stared into what she could see of his eyes with that quiet strength she’d always possessed, though she might doubt herself at times. “I also know you. I know the guilt you feel, the responsibility. I know why we never talk about it. But I don’t care.”

“Felicity-“

 “I’ve admired your abs before, and I will continue to do so.”

Was that the hint of a smile on Oliver’s lips? Such a rare sighting, since Slade.

“I think you should give me a piggy-back ride,” she pronounced, making up her mind.

As Felicity was hoisted into the air, she threw herself into the moment. She looped her arms around Oliver’s neck, exclaimed “Giddy up!” with a giggle, and held on tight as they resumed the trek back to civilization.

Felicity didn’t know how Oliver really felt about her, not for certain, but since it was hopeless right now anyway, why not keep being friends? She wanted something he couldn’t give, and there was work to do.


End file.
